Rights body's counsel<\/p>\n
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) submitted
\na four-point list of recommendations to President Soeharto on
\nJan. 16. The commission's Secretary-General Baharuddin Lopa last
\nweek summarized the organization's tentative conclusions
\nregarding the recent outbreaks of unrest in certain areas in this
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
\"Our tentative conclusion is that the unrest was triggered by
\nfeelings of dissatisfaction which have been growing in our
\nsociety for too long, finally triggering security disturbances in
\na number of places in our country.<\/p>\n
\"The reasons, among other things, are the prevalence of social
\nand economic disparities, while job opportunities remain limited
\nand constant and the work force continues to grow in numbers.\"<\/p>\n
Baharuddin's remarks do not digress from the four
\nrecommendations presented by the commission to President
\nSoeharto. In brief, those recommendations incorporate better
\nprotection for the economically weak among the population;
\naffirmation of the supremacy of the law and the judiciary;
\nsustenance of political communication, and an urgent and
\nfundamental reform of the state administration and apparatus.<\/p>\n
As President Soeharto regretfully remarked, however, why did
\nthose outbreaks of unrest and social upheavals occur at this
\nprecise moment, when our economy is getting ready for take-off?
\nAll this makes us feel awkward and raises the question: what have
\nthe three branches of state power (legislative, executive and
\njudicial) been doing in the past couple of decades? Another, more
\ncrucial, question is: what kind of counsel has the Supreme
\nAdvisory Council (DPA) been giving Soeharto all this time?<\/p>\n
Before there was a Republic of Indonesia, or a colonial
\nNetherlands East Indies administration -- or even before there
\nwere the ancient kingdoms of Mataram, Majapahit or Sriwijaya --
\nour people were already here. And once those kingdoms disappeared
\n-- including the Netherlands East Indies administration, which
\ncollapsed after ruling for three-and-a-half centuries -- the
\nIndonesian people remained and will always remain.<\/p>\n
Therefore, it is the Indonesian people who hold the birthright
\nover their country -- not the governments of Majapahit,
\nSriwijaya, or (King) Amangkurat. This is the correct way to
\ninterpret (the state ideology) Pancasila and the Constitution. If
\nwe should make an erroneous interpretation of the Constitution,
\nthen -- whatever we do -- we will only be sowing seed and reaping
\nweeds.<\/p>\n
-- Merdeka, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rights-bodys-counsel-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }